Wellington woman sentenced to Home Detention for manslaughter of former partner

Donna Henry has been sentenced to one year of home detention in the High Court in Wellington after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of her former partner, whose name is suppressed.

The incident occurred in September last year in Upper Hutt’s Brown Owl suburb, where Henry fatally stabbed her partner following an argument.

Judge David Boldt described their nearly 20-year relationship as marred by violence, with police attending over 50 domestic violence callouts to the couple’s home, where Henry was identified as the victim in the majority of instances.

However, during this fatal altercation, Henry escalated the situation by retrieving a knife, stabbing her partner once in the chest. Despite calling emergency services, her partner died at the scene.

In delivering the sentence Judge Boldt acknowledged Henry’s remorse and the need to minimise further trauma to the couple’s children.

He opted to convert her two-year prison sentence to home detention, citing the severe impact on the family and the already traumatised children.

Henry is required to attend drug and alcohol counseling as part of her sentencing, and she is prohibited from contacting the victim’s family, apart from their immediate children.